David Eyre 
Artist impression of the Leonardo AW139 rescue helicopter over Perth. Image courtesy of CHC - Dietmar Rabich.
Rome, 01 June 2022: Leonardo announced that CHC Australia has ordered three new Leonardo AW139 helicopters, under contract to the State of Western Australia, for Western Australia’s Emergency Rescue Helicopter Service (ERHS).
The AW139s will be delivered from Leonardo’s Vergiate final assembly line facility in Italy in early 2023 and will enter service later in the year, following dedicated mission customization performed locally. The new aircraft will feature a wide range of tailored equipment including, among others, 4-axis DAFCS (Digital Automatic Flight Control System) autopilot enhanced with Hover Mode, TCAS II (Traffic Collision Avoidance System), searchlight, camera, wire cutter and rescue hoist. The special HEMS interior and the advanced mission console will be installed in Australia.
The aircraft will be managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and carry out a range of HEMS, Search and Rescue and Inter-Hospital Patient Transport missions from the Jandakot and Bunbury Airports on behalf of the ERHS.
There are currently 61 AW139 helicopters registered with several operators in Australia, performing law enforcement, offshore transport and government duties. The AW139 is now the leading helicopter in Australia for Emergency Medical Services. The AW139 has logged over 1250 orders for more than 290 operators in over 80 countries
CHC already operates already ten AW139s and two AW189s. The global fleet of AW139s used by CHC recently set a major operational milestone, exceeding 250,000 flight hours.
The AW139s will replace the current fleet of three Bell 412EP helicopters currently performing the role, VH-EWA, VH-EPK and VH-VAA, which use callsigns RESCUE 651, 652 or 653, with two being based at Jandakot Airport and one at Bunbury Airport.
The order follows the recent opening of a new $10 million heliport at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH). More than 73 per cent of patients are flown by the ERHS to the State’s only trauma centre at RPH. The previous helipad was located on a roof between two buildings, limiting approaches to two directions and it could not support the weight of faster, heavier helicopters.
